Thoughts before reading:
This one is an all-time favorite. I read it countless times growing up, and it's one of the few I still have my childhood copy of. It still has the Kmart sticker on the back, for $2.95. Ah, the good old days.... I also thought I was 8 when I started reading the BSC books, but according to the date on my book sticker I was barely 7.
I still remember the plot fairly well too, and I know it was one of the early ones in my BSC reading journey. I picked it up because it was a Stacey book, and I loved the drama in here. As a kid it was insane to the point of unbelievable to me that Stacey had to follow such a strict diet all the time. My family was a cheap/bulk/junk food type. I actually liked seeing her slip up and not eat perfectly, because it made her more relatable to me, which made me like her even more. Especially when you're a kid, you want to read about other kids making mistakes and stumbling along, because that's how you feel a lot of the time. It's the same appeal I think a lot of kids find in the Ramona Quimby books. Or at least, I know I did.
Also loving this cover! I remember this is an actual scene from the book too, one I really enjoyed reading about back in the day. It just sounded fun, and I always loved Charlotte because we were around the same age, and I was a lot like her.
The basics:
Stacey hasn't been feeling well lately, but she doesn't want to tell her mom and make her worry more. She figures with the divorce and move, she's had enough on her plate. Still, she's been feeling really tired, constantly hungry, and endlessly thirsty for awhile now, and it's starting to really wear on her. At a BSC meeting, she finds it impossible to resist the smell of chocolate while being so hungry. When the meeting ends, she sneaks a ring ding and eats it in secret. In the following days, she begins to sneak and eat more forbidden foods: a candy bar, some fudge. She's sick and tired of being forced to follow such a strict diet while still feeling poorly all the time.
After sneaking snacks here and there all week, Stacey's more exhausted and feels terrible when she gets to NYC to spend the weekend with her dad. They skip dinner out to order in on Friday night. She goes to bed early and then spends all night getting up for drinks of water. When she's no better Saturday morning, her dad takes her to the hospital. Her blood sugars have shot way up, so she'll have to remain there for awhile.
The doctors keep upping her insulin, but it never seems like enough, and Stacey starts to worry she might die. Her mom comes to the city on Sunday morning and starts trying to keep her busy with a regular routine of rising early and doing schoolwork. It works for awhile, but Friday morning she wakes up feeling really sick and scared again. The doctors give her an insulin IV.
On Saturday, a week into her hospital stay, the BSC girls come into the city to visit. It's not long before Stacey's sugar levels drop too low though, and the doctor has to order them out. Her mom and the doctor both appear scared, which freaks Stacey out more. This time though, the doctor starts her on a new insulin mixture, and she begins to feel better. Emotionally she's still struggling, however. Her parents have been avoiding each other all week, and when she asks them to both stay with her for just a little while, they end up arguing about her right in front of her. She kicks them out of her room and asks them not to come for a day so she can think. Laine and the BSC girls come back and spend Sunday with her instead.
After a two week stay, Stacey's finally released from the hospital and goes home. She calmly and maturely tells her parents that she doesn't want to be their middle man anymore: no bad mouthing each other to her, or asking personal questions. She also admits to cheating on her diet.
There's a minor side plot with Charlotte happening also. She's terrified when Stacey gets hospitalized, and becomes a hypochondriac. Once she learns that Stacey will be okay though, her symptoms vanish for good.
Timeline:
Spans almost exactly 3 weeks, but time of year is unknown.
My thoughts:
I still really enjoyed this book, and I really liked Stacey's character in here. She handled things really well, never feeling sorry for herself like most people would in her place. Her fears are realistic, she's not dramatic in the slightest, and I was really sympathizing with her. The subject matter was handled well too, especially for young readers. This would be a great read for a child who faced any chronic health challenges. It was also nice to have no real side plot, and very little babysitting. I enjoyed the focus on one important thing that was happening, without being constantly interrupted with irrelevant chapters.
Stacey's parents were the worst in this book, and I found myself once again identifying more with the kid characters. While dealing with all these health challenges, Stacey was also dealing with feeling like her parents are both using her for information on each other. They constantly ask her questions, trying to figure out who the other is dating, and complain about each other. She even felt like she had to protect her mom from more problems, which was why she didn't mention feeling so terrible. If she'd been comfortable talking to her parents, she never would have gotten so sick. All of this is such a shitty thing to do to a kid, especially one facing her own serious health concerns. Stacey has a lot on her plate for someone her age, yet she was often the most mature one in her family during this book. Her parents won't even stay in the same room as each other to be with their sick daughter. Even when she asks them for just a little time as a family, seeking comfort from both her parents at once, they can't handle it without bickering. Stacey was 100% justified in kicking them out and asking for space. Respecting her wishes in that regard was the best choice her parents made during this ordeal.
Reading this now, I still found Stacey breaking her diet very understandable and relatable. There's really no way a kid could deal with all those restrictions and temptations without ever giving in. That's even more true during a time like this, when it seems like following all the rules isn't even helping her feel well. I could never have followed Stacey's diet as a kid. Plus, she's stressed out and stretched WAY too thin. Her parents are putting her in the middle, she's behind in school from having no energy, she has the BSC commitments, and her dad is constantly planning busy weekends in NYC, which gives her no chance to catch up on rest or homework. He needs to learn to consult his daughter about what she'd like to do over those weekends. She's a teenager, so she's going to have homework and other commitments to honor.
Misc:
*I totally remember reading the newspaper because of this book, so I could be like Stacey and Charlotte.
*Stacey explains the brittle diabetic term we've been hearing: it means her disease is especially hard to control, and she needs insulin daily, as well as a strict diet.
*Stacey likes Porky Pig
*This book was sadder than I expected, it made me emotional a few times.
*Stacey has a crush on Ross Brown.
Books mentioned:
*The Dancing Cats of Applesap, by Janet Taylor Lisle
*The Dachshunds of Mama Island, by Florence Mayberry
*The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, by Harriet Lothrop
My rating:
4.5 stars, I really enjoyed this one, and the serious subject was well handled.
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